That’s a no-Go

I forgot to mention something else I noticed yesterday during my sojourn into the world of mainstream children’s retail. I idly picked up a copy of manga warhorse Shonen Jump and it fell open to what looked like a page of tips on playing Go. It turns out that Hikaru no Go is a Yu-Gi-Oh-esque tale of a boy who seeks to become the best Go player he can be. What possible commercial force can be driving a medium that usually props up trashy CCGs to start pimping a hard-to-expand (let alone copyright) classic game… albeit one that beats chess up and takes its lunch money? I don’t know but I’m glad to see it.

By “medium,” I was referring to Shonen Jump, not to all of manga… and I was, of course, also exaggerating like hell about Shonen Jump. But what’s accuracy when you’re trying to be funny? I mean, really.

Hikaru no Go has been in Japan for quite some time and is responsible for a resurgence of interest in Go in the younger populace. About 20 years ago, Go was considered an “old persons” game. Now, everyone plays.

When in Japan, you’ll notice they actually televise matches between high dan players regularly.

I know a couple of people that basically play Go on-line for hours a day. Their spouses are none to happy about it too.